ferret england

Question
can I bring my ferret,quarintine time,conditions.hear that is bad truth?
kim

Answer
Hi Kim:

I'm not sure what you are asking - your sentence is incomplete.  I will assume that you are considering going to England and want to know if you should bring your ferret?  

I'm sure the answer to that question will depend upon a lot of things.  What country will you be entering England from?  How long will you be staying?  The answer to all those things will help you decide if it is worthwhile for you to take your ferret and put him thru a SIX MONTH quarantine period.

There is a UK (England) newsgroup online that can probably answer this question for you and give you all kinds of information regarding taking your ferret to England and surrounding areas, quarantine information, etc.  Here is a like to their group:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/9381/

Here is a website dedicated to traveling in the UK with ferrets:

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/petplanet/news/newsbody.asp?article_id=269


While it's good to talk to others about the real experience of taking your ferret to England, I highly recommend you get information about quarantine, etc directly from England immigration authorities.  

Personally, I think a six month quarantine for a ferret is  nearly an unbearable for them to be away from their owners.  Ferrets are social creatures who need daily interraction with their humans to remain healthy mentally and physically. You may want to consider finding a loving home for them to stay with here in the states while you are gone unless you are moving permanently...in which case you should consider your ferret's age before you decide to put it in 6 months of quarantine. That seems a bit extreme to me. I don't think most ferrets would survive six months in quarantine, so rehoming has to become a consideration.

Hopefully with the UK group above you can get some good information. I know that ferrets aren't kept indoors in England as often as we do here in the U.S. Many owners there keep ferrets for 'ferreting' - hunting rabbits, and they are kept in outdoor enclosures.  That would be a terrible change in living style for a U.S. ferret to suddenly be kept outdoors!  I personally know some ferret owners in England who keep their ferrets indoors and their biggest problem seems to be finding veterinary care for ferrets and also finding simple things such as a cage, food and treats, etc. because English ferrets often hunt rabbits and eat them. While that's great for them, it would be really difficult to take a ferret who is used to being in a cage with food and water and move him outside and expect him to hunt rabbits for his food.  It's just too much of a change, so you would need to plan to continue to keep him indoors with food and water, etc, as he has been kept up until now.

There are many many things to consider before thinking about taking a ferret to England.  My best suggestion is that you check out all the possibilities, but keep in mind that it's very possible that the best thing FOR THE FERRET would be to be left in the U.S. in the care of someone who already has ferrets and/or knows about ferrets.

Best of luck to you. If you have any specific questions that you can't get answers on the above websites, please don't hesitate to write again and I will get answers for you.

sincerely,
jacquie rodgers